Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
chimneysweep

chimneysweep

7.6
A person who cleans soot and ash from chimneys
  • noun
  • /ˈʧɪmniˌswip/
translation icon : deshollinador
  • After the fire, the homeowner called a chimneysweep to ensure that the fireplace was safe to use.

Examples

  • A chimneysweep diagnosed pigeons nesting in our defunct flues.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • The chimneysweep carefully climbed the ladder to clean the thick soot from the chimney.

  • As a chimneysweep, she worked hard to remove all the ash that accumulated in the old chimneys.

Synonyms

sweep
vschimneysweep
11 5.7

A person who cleans soot from chimneys

is a more neutral everyday label for the same occupation
chimneysweeper
vschimneysweep
7.9

A person who cleans soot and ash from chimneys

is the identical meaning but an alternative written form

Surface Forms

chimneysweep singular
chimneysweeps plural

Morphology

chimneysweep = chimney + sweep (transparent) = chimney + sweep

Clearly a compound of 'chimney' + 'sweep' meaning a person who sweeps chimneys; the meaning follows straightforward English compounding.

Etymology

Chimneysweep is made from two simple words: chimney meaning 'the pipe that carries smoke out of a house' and sweep meaning 'to clean with a brush'. So a chimneysweep is literally someone who 'cleans' chimneys, which is why they remove soot and ash.